Grammar: Punctuation Marks in English

 Punctuation Marks in English

 

A punctuation mark is a mark, or sign, used in writing to divide texts into phrases and sentences and make the meaning clear.
 
Importance of Punctuation Marks:

•  While speaking, we can pause or emphasize certain words and phrases to help people understand what we are saying.
•  We use punctuation marks to show pauses and emphasis in our writing.
•  Punctuation marks help the reader understand what the sentences mean.

Uses of Punctuation Marks:
Punctuation marks are used in the written form of the language to help a reader distinguish words and ideas from each other and to mirror the natural rhythms of the spoken language.
 
1.     Period (.)
⋗ The period is also known as full stop in England.
It declares the end of a sentence. In another word, It has one job: to end a declarative sentence or imperative sentence.
Ø It separates one sentence from another sentence.
Ø One space after period.
Ø It completes the sentence. For instance:
Alex is a doctor. He works in a hospital.
Ø The period is also used in abbreviations. For instance:

• Saint = St.
• Exempli gratia = e.g.
• Nota bene = N.B.
• $ 10.50 (Dollars)
• 3.49 (Decimal)
• A. Sports (Outlines)
• 1. Football
• 2. Volleyball

 
2.     Question Mark (?)
Ø It is also known as the note of interrogation: Yes/No Questions and Wh-Questions.
Ø  It is used to complete sentences with a direct form of question, not in indirect questions as they are presented as statements with periods at the end, not question marks. For instance:
·        Have you completed the assignments?
·        What are you doing here?
·        What kind of phone do you have?
 
 
3.     Exclamation mark/point (!)
Ø It is also known as the Note of Exclamation.
Ø It conveys strong emotion or excitement, either positive or negative.
Ø It provides additional emphasis to sentences, phrases, or single words, and especially to commands and interjections. For instance:
·        Happy birthday, Amy!
·        Punctuation is exciting!
·        Thank you, Jackee!
·        What a gorgeous house!
·        Wow, I really love you!
·        Fantastic, let's go!
·        What a cute puppy!
·        What a happy ending!
·        Stop!
·        Yeah!
·        Sit down!
·        What a lovely view you have here!
·        That’s fantastic!
·        Johnny, don’t touch that!
·        Help!
·        Good heavens!
 
Note:  avoid using a note of exclamation whenever it’s possible to describe in words.
 
4.     Comma (,)
Ø The comma is the most useful and common punctuation mark used in English. It plays many significant roles in written form of English.
Ø Commas generally add breathing scope for the readers in sentences, so that their thoughts cannot get all jumbled up.

Ø Comma is used between Independent Clauses:
A comma usually separates two independent clauses as they are connected by certain coordinating conjunctions such as and, but, or, nor, or for). But in case of short clauses, no comma is needed. For instance:
·        I wanted to watch a movie after dinner, but I could not due to my project works.
·        We had dinner and then I attended the party. (Comma is  not needed between these clauses)

Ø Comma after Introductory Clauses, if Clauses, Phrases, and Expression:
Commas are used not only between independent clauses but also after introductory clauses and phrases. Some expressions and connectors which are placed at the beginning of a sentence also require a comma after them. For instance:
-         If you take off your jacket, you’ll catch a cold.
-         ‘If –clause’ is at the beginning to separate two clauses, comma is used.
-         Being insulted, the piper went to the hill.
-         Before start using it, you should read all the instructions properly.
-         When you met Jack, he was the Branch Manager.
-         However, Jack will play in the next match.
 
Note: A good way to use commas is to read the sentence aloud to make sure whether there is enough pause taken or not for using a comma.

Ø Use of series Comma:
To separate multiple items of the same category in a series. They can be a series of words, phrases, or clauses. For instance:
-         I love puppies, kittens, and ferrets.
-         They brought pizzas, burgers, chocolate, and some medicines on a trekking.
-         The batsman set up his pads, put on his helmet, and played a good knock. (Verb phrases)
-         He is a player, a singer, an actor, and a director.

Ø Use Comma before Tag Question:
          To reassure statement of a sentence’s overall idea.
-         They’re in the meeting hall, aren’t they?
-         They’ll never go against my will, will they?
-         She loves him, doesn’t she?
-         I’m a student, aren’t I?

Ø Use of  Comma  to address directly
To call someone by name or directly. For instance:
-         Hey, Julee, what are you doing?
-         Listen, Nita, you have to play well today.
-         You know, kid, when I was at your age, I used to study four hours a day.

Ø Use of Commas in Names and Dates
To separate names of places and dates. For instance:
-         Pokhara , Province -4, is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
-         Janaki Temple, Janakpur, is the biggest temple in the  country.
-         They were married June 15, 2020, in Kathmandu.
-         No comma- They were married on June 15 in 2020 in Kathmandu.
-         She was born  January 24, 199o, in New York.

Ø Use of comma in Dialogue
To deal with direct speech and indirect speech. For instance:
-         They said to me, “We are going to a movie tomorrow."
-         She said to him, "Did you finish the book yesterday?"
-         He said to the servant, "Get out!"
-         I said, "Let's see a movie today."
-         Rama said to me, “I love you.”
 
Common Mistakes with Commas
I.   Do not separate two verbs or verb phrases joined by a coordinator.
-         I cleaned, and painted the wall. (Incorrect-X)
-         I cleaned and painted the wall. (Correct- √)
II.  Do not separate two nouns or  phrases, or noun clauses, joined by a conjunction.
-         My class teacher, and Our Principal both sent letters.( Incorrect- X)
-         My class teacher and Our Principal both sent letters. (Correct- √)
 
III.   If clauses at the middle
-         I would fly in the sky, if I were a bird. (Incorrect-X)
-         I would fly in the sky  if I were a bird./ If I were a bird, I would fly in the sky. (Correct- √)
 

5.     The semicolon (;)
Ø Semicolon (;) is used to connect independent clauses. It shows a closer relationship between the clauses than a period would show.
Ø It is almost like period but it connects two independent clauses or sentences together instead of using a coordinating conjunction.
Ø It can be replaced by the coordinating conjunction. For instance:
    -         We do not need a bike now; we want to sell it.  
           Here, the semicolon can be replaced by the coordinating conjunction –‘and’.
    -         John was hurt; he knew she only said it to upset him.
    -         We used to love hunting; however, it is not legal.

 6.     Colons (:)
Colons have  many uses.
Ø They are used after a word introducing a quotation, an explanation, an example, or a series.
    - He was planning to study four subjects: English, Politics, Geography and Philosophy.
Ø They  used between independent clauses when the second explains the first, similar to a semicolon:
    - He didn't have time to participate: He was already late.
Ø They are used for emphasis:
    -There was one thing she loved more than any other: her dog.
Ø Colons are used in the salutations of formal letters. For instance: Dear Sir: To whom it may concern: To all members:
Ø Colons sometimes introduce a series/list to describe some new information after a complete sentence. For instance: The fruit seller had three kinds of fruit: bananas, apples, and oranges.
Ø They are used for expressing TIME in figures. For instance:
·        4:30 PM (Not o'clock)
·        9:45 PM
·        7:30 in the morning
 
7.     Dash and the Hyphen
Two other  more common punctuation marks which are often confused with each other due to their appearance,  are the dash and hyphen. Infact, they are very different.

Dash (–)
-         A dash hints a brief break in thought or helps to add information to a sentence.
-         A dash has no space before or after it.
-         It is used to separate words into statements.
There are two common types of dashes: en dash and em dash.

En dash:
-         Twice as long as a hyphen.
-         en dash is a symbol (–)
-         It is used in writing or printing to indicate connections or differentiations, such as 1939-1945 or  Nepalgunj- Kathmandu Routes/ Buses.

Em dash:
-         Longer than the en dash.
-          em dash can be used in place of a comma, parenthesis, or colon to enhance readability or emphasize the conclusion of a sentence.

-         For instance: Sital gave him her answer — No!

Hyphen (-)
Ø A hyphen is used to join two or more words together into a compound term and is not separated by spaces.
·        My eight-year-old boy loves reading.
·        I work part-time.
·        Self-expression
·        Self-confidence
·        Self-consciousness
·        Nineteenth-century history
·        Old-furniture salesman
·        Off-the-peg suits
·        Self-paced learning exercises
Ø It is used to combine word together to make Compound Nouns/ Adjectives. For instance: part-time, back-to-back, well-known.
Ø It is also used with some suffixes and prefixes, such as -like, -wise, anti-, well-, and post- to make new adjectives. For instance: Anti-violent, Dog-like, Ability-wise, Decision-making, etc.
Ø It is used to indicate compound numbers and continuous numbers. For instance: Sixty-five, their age is 29-35, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) etc.
 
 
8.     Quotation marks “”
Ø They are used with commas to inform the reader that someone is talking or being quoted. For instance: "Punctuation marks are important in writing," my grammmar teacher said.
Ø It helps to understand what the character is saying.
Ø They are used in quoting words what someone has already said. For instance: Jack said, “I am from Melbourne.”
 
9.     Apostrophes ’
Ø Apostrophes are used to show ownership and missing letters in contractions. If they are misplaced they can create confusion in readers. For example:
It's = it is (its = ownership)
It's = it is (its = ownership)
·        He is = He’s
·        I am = I’m
·        Do not = Don’t
·        They have = They’ve
·        It is = It’s
·        I would = I’d
·        Let us = Let’s
·        She has = She’s
·        Who is = Who’s
Ø  Creating possessive nouns (Jim’s house, the Kelleys’ car)
·        The dog sleeps in it's house. (Incorrect) – Here, it’s means it is in stead of its.
·        The boys room is painted blue. (Incorrect)- Here, boys refers to more than one boys.
·        The boy's are sleeping in the tent. (Incorrect)- Here, use of apostrophe is not needed in the sense it means to  more than one boys.
·        Robert’s watch

10. Ellipses:
Ø Ellipses means three periods together: . . .
Ø They mean that information has been omitted from a quote; usually they are used to shorten the quote or statement. For instance:
·   Full quotation: "Today, after hours of careful thought, we vetoed the bill."
·   With ellipsis: "Today … we vetoed the bill."

10. Slash (/)
A slash, also known as a forward slash, a virgule, or even an oblique dash, has a number of uses.
Ø To separate lines in a song or poem when they are written in a continuous line.
Ø The slash (/) is also used in place of the word.
Ø To show two contradictory notion.
Ø To separate parts of the internet (web) addresses and file names for some computer programs. For instance: http://www.example.com/
Ø It is used for fractions. For instance:  1/3 = one-third
Ø To separate the day, month, and year in date. For instance:
·        2078/01/24
·        w/o = without
Ø To show the word “per” in measurements. For instance:60 m/h = 60 miles per hour
Ø To show alternatives in a sentence.  For instance: Please press Caps Lock/Shif plus button.
 
 

 11.  Brackets
Brackets might look like parentheses, but they aren’t parentheses. They come in two different forms:
Ø Brackets are the squared off notations [ ] used for technical explanations or to clarify meaning. If you remove the information in the brackets, the sentence will still make sense.

He [Mr. Jones] was the last person seen at the house.
“It [the river] taught me all I ever knew about life.”
“Yeats used to love her [Maude Gonne], and he wrote many poems about her.”
 
Square brackets: [ ]-
·        To add content to a quote to make the quote clearer
·        To mark a subordinate clause within another subordinate clause within parentheses.
-         “I loved it [the new movie]. I couldn’t look away,” Bob said.
-         I invited my family (Mom, Dad, my sisters [but only Melanie came] and Grandma) to come meet the new puppy. 
 
Curly brackets, also known as braces or squiggly brackets: { }
Squiggly brackets are rarely seen outside programming, physics, and high-level mathematics.

 

Notes:

    In American English, periods always go inside quotation marks. The same is true for commas.

    But, dashes, colons, and semicolons always go outside quotation marks (unless they’re part of what’s being quoted) and exclamation and question marks sometimes go outside, sometimes go inside.

    Commas and periods must always be placed inside the quotation marks, according to most citation systems.

    Colons, as well as, semicolons, on the other hand, should be placed outside the quotation marks.

    Note of interrogation and note of exclamation should be placed inside the quotation marks when they are part of the quoted elements.